The New York Yankees acquired starting pitcher Michael Pineda from the Seattle Mariners prior to the 2012 season. Unfortunately he's only made 13 starts over that three-year span. Will he be ready to pitch a full season in 2015?
Pineda, 26, made all of his 13 starts in New York last year and he still missed a lot of time due to a back strain as well as a 10-game suspension for illegal pine tar use. Shoulder problems kept him out for all of 2012 and 2013, but the right-hander is ready turn it around and "be healthy and strong" to pitch 200 innings, he told Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News.
In fact, he has already gotten a head start. Pineda arrived at the Yankees' spring training facility back on Jan. 28, nearly a month before pitchers and catchers are required to report. New York needs the right-hander to be healthy for all of 2015 after he showed promise in 2014, finishing 5-5 with a 1.89 ERA and 0.83 WHIP in his lone 13 starts. However, that wasn't too big of a surprise because he was an All-Star in his rookie campaign with the Mariners (9-10 with a 3.74 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 28 starts).
"He's trying to make his way," pitching coach Larry Rothschild told Dan Martin of the New York Post. "He pitched really good last year when he was healthy, but it would be nice to have him for a full year and make sure he's completely over the hump, because shoulders you just never know about. So far, knock on wood, he's handled it pretty well."
New York's success this upcoming season hinges largely on the ability of Pineda and ace Masahiro Tanaka to perform at a high level. However, that's no guarantee because Pineda's laundry list of past injuries as well as Tanaka's partially torn UCL are significant enough to derail the team's hope of making the postseason. On top of that, starters C.C. Sabathia (season-ending knee surgery) and Ivan Nova (Tommy John surgery) are recovering from serious injuries.
Nonetheless, last week Rothschild said there have been good reports on Tanaka's elbow, and Pineda seems to be working hard to maintain his health for a 30-plus start season. That's some good news to say the least.
"I'm very excited for this year," Pineda added. "I like getting here early [to] make sure everything is OK."
